HOUSTON — A former Houston teacher is facing several felony charges after investigators said he had sex with several of his students.
According to court documents, Reginald Van Long, 27, is believed to have had sexual contact with five of his underage students. He's facing several felonies, including multiple counts of sexual assault of a child under 17, improper relationship with a student and online solicitation of a minor.
When the alleged crimes occurred, Long taught at the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a chartered middle school.
According to court documents, Long made inappropriate comments to multiple students via social media. One student said he reached out to her mainly through Instagram and even called her "sexy mama" at least one time.
Another student said that when she was 14, Long reached out to her on social media and they ended up meeting at her house in Houston in December of 2022. The student said they got into the backseat of his car and had sex. She also said that about 10 months later, they had sex again, this time in her bedroom at her house. According to court documents, security video showed Van Long climbing through her bedroom window.
Investigators said Long admitted to having sex with at least one of his students during an interview last month. He also confessed to sending sexual images to several other students on Instagram, court records said.
According to court documents, Long also encouraged a 12-year-old student to leave school so he could have sex with her.
Long's educator certificate expired nearly four years ago, according to records. The superintendent at the school where he worked when he allegedly committed the crimes said Long was let go last summer when they learned about the allegations.
According to records, he was booked into the Smith County Jail and his bond was set at $400,000.